MD, PhD Naoki Kondo,
We study social determinants of health (SDH/SDoH) and how to achieve health equity. SDH at the levels of society and community include income inequality, economic crises, and social capital; and those at individual level include income, educational attainment, occupation, and interpersonal relationships. We have also conducted intervention studies aiming to achieve health equity in the community.
Research and Education
In 2024, we established the Department of Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation (Endowed Course) to enhance implementation research.
- Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study: the longitudinal study on social determinants of older adults’ health involving over two hundred thousand people living in 60 municipalities in Japan and two regions in other Asian countries. We are conducting joint research with the World Health Organization and the World Bank to promote healthy ageing.
- Social prescribing and Cultural prescribing: We are developing systems for building inclusive communities that address social isolation and poverty.
- Collaborative studies with business sector and governments: Building social services to reduce health inequality, applying for the latest behavior scientific theories and evidence.
- Precision Public Health: We are developing data systems and analytical methods that propose tailored solutions based on human attributes and characteristics (personas) using diverse data from both domestic and international sources.
- Cultural Epidemiology: We develop epidemiological studies evaluating culture–health relationships through research on cultural determinants of health such as cultural capital, cultural well-being including human–nature relations (planetary health), and culture-based public health interventions.
Silver Opportunity: Building Integrated Services for Older Adults around Primary Health Care
Health in Japan: Social Epidemiology of Japan since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics:
Recent Publications
- Habu H and Kondo N. Culture as a Determinant of Health and Well-being: Expanding the Concept of Cultural Capital. F1000Research 2025, 14:638
- Nishio M, Haseda M, Inoue K, Saito M, Kondo N. Measuring functional ability in Healthy Ageing: testing its validity using Japanese nationwide longitudinal data. Age Ageing. 2024 Jan 2;53(1):afad224. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afad224
- Haseda M, Takagi D, Stickley A, Kondo K, Kondo N*. Effectiveness of a community organizing intervention on mortality and its equity among older residents in Japan: A JAGES quasi-experimental study. Health Place. 2022;74:102764.
- Li Y, Godai K, Kido M, et al. Cognitive decline and poor social relationship in older adults during COVID-19 pandemic: can information and communications technology (ICT) use helps? BMC Geriatrics. 2022;22(1):375.
- Honda Y, Fujiwara T, Kawachi I. Higher child-raising costs due to maternal social isolation: Large population-based study in Japan. Soc Sci Med. 2019 Jul;233:71-77. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.06.001. Epub 2019 Jun 5. PMID: 31185444.
Social Epidemiology
Professor：Naoki Kondo
Associate Professor：Daisuke Takagi (Department of Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation), Daisuke Nishioka(Department of Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation)
Junior Associate Professor： Maho Haseda
Assistant Professor：Yukiko Honda, Hiroshi Habu, Yaya Li, Nana Ishimura (Department of Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation), Haruna Kawachi (Department of Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation)
Email：contact@socepi.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp
URL：https://socepi.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/